According to an unnamed source, the major TV and cable networks are unanimously considering dropping the 30-second and 60-second commercial formats, replacing them with the old-school standard of 468x60 banners layered over content. The 468x60 banner was discontinued from wide use online about 12 to 13 years ago, but the networks all agree that the commercial format has no future and are looking for new ways to entice viewers to engage with ads. The one question they are still looking to answer: How does one click a banner on a TV screen? Did you believe that opening paragraph? There's no …

I've been writing for MediaPost for over 12 years now. Many -- if not most -- of my columns have been focused on the intersection between technology and human behavior. I'm fascinated by what happens when evolved instincts meet technological disruption. When I started this gig, I was mostly optimistic. I was amazed by the possibilities, and -- somewhat naively, it turns out -- believed tech would make us better. Unlimited access to information, the ability to connect with anyone, anywhere, new ways to reach beyond the limits of our own DNA: How could this not make humans amazing? Why, …

It's undoubtedly true that advertisers have cut back on the fees they pay agencies for their services. There is a chicken-and-egg question here: Has this happened because agencies seem to be making large sums of money? Or are agencies being forced to find new sources of income, because advertisers have been cutting back?

Every year I'm afforded the unique and wonderful opportunity of sharing my personal thoughts with all of you in this column on the day before Thanksgiving. This year I'm feeling especially sensitive to things that are going on around us. Needless to say, it's been a very interesting year. I am thankful that we all have a voice, and that our voices can be heard.

Call it the Frog in Boiling Water Syndrome. It happens when creeping changes in our environment reach a disruptive tipping point that triggers massive change -- or, sometimes, a dead frog. I think we're going through one such scenario now. In this case, the boiling water may be technology, and the frog may be democracy.

It is Thanksgiving this week, and it is customary to share what you're thankful for. So here goes:

"If I were to run, I'd run as a Republican. They're the dumbest group of voters in the country... I could lie and they'd still eat it up. I bet my numbers would be terrific," said Donald Trump in a 1998 People magazine interview. Except, of course, he didn't.

GRP. CPM. CPA. DSP. DMP. That is how we talk to each other. That is how we talk to our clients. That is a problem.

Remember when all the rage was to set up a "war room" for monitoring social media while a campaign was live? The goal of these efforts was to enable brands to operate in real time, responding to customer feedback. This model could get revisited as we start thinking through the concept of connected creativity.

You know I love to ask "why"? And last Tuesday provided me with the mother of all "whys." I know there will be a lot of digital ink shed about this event, but I just can't help myself. So -- why?